Breaded Italian Chicken

Now that I am back to work, I need to find recipes that are quick and easy, but still healthy and flavorful. That can be a big order to fill, but as I was driving home from work the other night, I remembered the herbs de provence chicken I made back when I first started this blog.

I wanted to make it again, but using different flavors. I decided to go with Italian since I always have tons of basil and oregano on hand. I used the same coating process as the herbs de provence chicken, but just changed up the seasonings.

While it came out moist and tasty, my husband and I both agreed it was a little "flat". We felt it was missing some depth of flavor; after some brainstorming together, we decided that sprinkling some fresh grated parm or crumbled bleu cheese on top would give it that extra flavor jolt we were looking for. (Update: After talking to my mom, I most likely used too much flour. The correct amount of flour is in the recipe below...I did not measure when making this myself.)

I served this with some lightly sauteed spinach. I think a true sign of adulthood is cooking a veggie that you hate, tasting it and still hating it, but forcing yourself to eat it anyway. Yeah, that was us and the sauteed spinach. I guess we only like it is smothered in cheese, or raw in salads (well, only me on the raw).

Breaded Italian Chicken
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 small chicken thighs (boneless, skinless). Breasts work great too.
  
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayanne pepper

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

Line up three bowls for coating the chicken. In the first bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, basil and oregano. I just mixed the ingredients together with a fork.

In the second bowl, beat the eggs. Make sure you use a bowl big enough to put the chicken breast in!

In the third bowl, mix the panko crumbs with the cayanne pepper.

First, dip one chicken breast in the flour mixture. Turn to coat both sides. Then dip it in the egg, again coating both sides. Lastly, dip and coat both sides of the chicken in the panko and herb mix. Lay that chicken breast in your baking dish and repeat the process with the second chicken breast.

Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes. Turn the chicken over about halfway in order to crisp up both sides of the chicken. (Note: If you are using chicken breasts, cook for about 40 minutes.)